Two People, One Soul
by musicis4ever
Summary: Benny Foster's alter-ego, Shadow, is a wanted heroine. However, Benny is close friends with Tony Stark, and he lets her join the Avengers. She meets Bruce, and they both realize what they have in common. The usual romance happens, but when Benny finds out Bruce's secret, will their relationship remain unchanged? Surprise twists & turns will happen! R&R Bruce/OC Steve/OC (Later on)
1. Chapter 1

**So… I decided to do this fanfic based off a dream I had. Yeah, yeah, I know it's kind of a weird thing to do. Still, I'm sort of playing around with the idea. Tell me what you think in a review or PM. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Marvel or to be Stan Lee. Therefore, I don't own the Avengers or the copyrights to the movie. I own nothing and no one except my characters and my ideas.**

**Chapter 1: The Newbie**

My full name is Benevolence Caroline Foster. All my friends and family call me Benny, much to my annoyance or pleasure. Honestly, it all depends on who I am. See, I'm a mid-twenties woman with a secret. My other self is called Shadow.

Shadow got her name because she kills. That's right. Kills. When she finishes her victim (never an innocent person or animal), she vanishes into the shadows. No witness or government official has ever seen her face. That is, _my_ face, as Shadow.

Benny, that's me now, doesn't kill. It's not in my nature to. Now, I'm just as normal as a mid-twenties woman can be. Well, sort of. I don't think I've mentioned that I'm one of Tony Stark's close friends. Yeah, I know, weird. Yet, it's not a long story about how we met.

It was four years ago, on my birthday. My birthday's in winter, so the frozen ground was covered in a blanket of white snow. I was relaxing on my overstuffed couch, drinking a mug of hot chocolate. I had my headphones plugged into my iPod. _Seemingly_ listening to my music, I was actually listening to the police scanner.

I heard that there was a bank robbery taking place near my house, and I nearly spilled my hot chocolate on my purple long-sleeved shirt as I sprung to my feet. Jane Foster, my older cousin, looked at me in surprise.

"What's up, Benny?" She asked, and then she ripped my headphones off my head.

"Hey! I was using those!" I protested.

"Listening to police scanners, again!? How many times must I tell you? I don't like the fact that you have an alter ego and run off at random times of the day! You could get seriously hurt!" Jane took away my iPod.

"Don't you think I already _know_ that? Or have you forgotten the _real_ reason why Shadow exists?" I said, changing into Shadow's outfit.

"Of course I haven't!" Jane said, brushing a strand of her brown hair from her pretty face.

"Well, then stop worrying about me! It's my life I'm putting on the line, not yours." I put my mask on, flipping my blonde hair up into a ponytail.

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I'm not the one who has to be careful, Jane!"

She sighed, sitting on the couch.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to stop a bank robbery." I let the anger inside of me take over my mind and Benevolence was gone.

I was Shadow, and I grinned. I kicked the door open and slipped outside, keeping to the shadows. Once I'd gotten to the bank, I snuck in. The alarms were blaring and about fifty innocent people were being held at gunpoint.

Four masked men were standing on top of the bank teller windows, and a couple men were coming out from where the bank vault was. They each had two sacks full of money in their hands. I growled, and the scared chatter stopped.

"You know," I said, in my disguised voice, "It's always nice to ask someone before robbing them."

"Shadow!" One of the men sneered.

"Come out and play, girly!" Another jeered. My blue eyes flashed and I tackled the first man who'd spoken. I knocked him out, and punched the temple of the one who'd jeered at me. He was dazed, but conscious. I whirled around and kicked another masked man into the fourth.

Suddenly, a whoosh of air fluttered the dropped money everywhere.

"Hey! Looks like you could use a hand there!" A teasing male voice said to me. I narrowed my eyes.

"No thanks, tin can! I can handle this!" I said, noting that the man I saw was Iron Man. Before he had time to speak another word, I leapt across the room and tackled one of the men that was carrying a sack of money.

I heard his head hit the floor, and a shower of money engulfed me. He struggled, but I held him in a scissor-hold with my legs. I grabbed the ankle of the other robber and pulled him down with enough force to knock him out.

I heard a car starting. Using my right hand, I pressed the right side of my mask and I could see that two masked men were getting into the car, holding two bags of money each.

The man I was holding stopped struggling and I reached into my boots, pulled out four daggers and threw them, aiming carefully. I heard the satisfying pop of four tires and a screech of brakes, along with a loud crash. Looking back to Iron Man, I realized he'd seen my face.

"Damn!" I said, before throwing a smoke pellet on the ground and running out of the back door.

I heard a mechanical whir above me.

"So, did you think I wouldn't notice you leaving? Or are you just afraid of me because I saw your face?" Iron Man said.

"Look, I'm not afraid of anyone. But I know who you are, Tony Stark!" I growled at him.

"Okay, be a nice kitty, and I won't hurt you." He said, somewhat uneasily.

I smiled, coldly.

"I've never been a 'nice' kitty!" I laughed, equally as cold as my smile.

"Relax, I just want to talk to you." He removed his mask.

"As myself. Would you show who you really are to me?" He asked, genuinely serious.

"Why? So you can rat me out to the authorities? No, thanks!" I snapped.

"I would normally, but after seeing what you did today, I swear I won't. If I'm lying to you, you have my permission to kill me." Tony walked towards me. I felt my anger washing away.

"All right." I knew both as Shadow and as Benevolence, that Tony Stark was a man who was trustworthy. Well, sort of.

And so I removed my mask, now I was myself again. Benny. I didn't have a clue where I was.

"Damn it! Was I fighting you?" I asked him, in my normal voice. He was visibly surprised.

"Um, no. I was trying to help you, but clearly you don't need it. You took out eight men all by yourself! I'm impressed!" He chuckled, softly.

"You're Tony Stark!" I said, surprised.

"Yeah, but you already know that!" He said, slightly confused.

"I do? Oh, you mean Shadow! Oh hell!" I covered my heart shaped mouth in astonishment.

"You-you aren't going to turn me in are you?" I fell on my knees.

"No, I'm not! Please don't-don't do that! Get up, and pull yourself together. If I didn't know better, I'd say you and Shadow are two different people!" He laughed at this.

I looked up at him, regaining my composure.

"Well, we _are_!" I said, honestly.

He stopped laughing.

"You're kidding, right? Well, I can see you're not. Would you care to join me for a flight?" Tony asked, extending his hand to me.

I hesitated.

"I promise I'm not going to turn you in or reveal your secret to anyone. Now hurry! I can hear the police!" He still held out his hand. I sighed and took it, still holding my mask. He quickly swung me onto his back and took off. This surprised me and I gasped, holding tightly to his metal neck.

The wind fluttered my long blonde hair behind me. When we finally landed, I looked thoroughly windswept.

"Well, you held out better than I thought you would. You know, that's the first time I actually did that? Consider yourself lucky!" Tony said, grinning at me. His armor was stripped away and he led me into his newly built mansion.

"Welcome to my humble home!" He announced, gesturing to the echoing place. Promptly, a red-haired woman came out, holding a clipboard and wearing a pencil skirt with a blue blouse and high heels.

"Ah, my lovely assistant! Pepper, this is…" Tony waited for me.

"Oh, sorry! Benevolence Foster." I said to him. Tony stumbled over my name so many times, that I sighed in frustration.

"Don't hurt yourself, Mr. Stark. Just call me 'Benny'. Everyone who knows me as Benevolence does." I said, and then smiled at Pepper.

"Okay, that's easier, thank you. So, as I was saying… Pepper, meet Benny, Benny this is Pepper Potts. Call her whatever you think she wants to be called. Oh, and please, call me Tony. Mr. Stark makes me feel old." Tony said, and then took my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Pepper Potts!" I called back to her, as I was dragged away.

"Nice to meet you, too, Benny!" She replied, still standing where she'd met us.

I was brought into a brightly lit room. There was a table near the mirror and another in the middle of the room.

"Um, what's this place?" I asked Tony

"Well, this _will_ be a place for a new team I'm making. I just need to think of a name." He tapped his unshaven chin with the tip of a ballpoint pen.

"Who's going to be in this team?" I ventured to ask.

"I have no idea," he replied, leaving the room. I followed him.

"What about something like 'The Hero Alliance' or 'The Amazing Avengers'?" I suggested. He stopped in his tracks, so briefly that he caused me to run into him. He didn't even stagger.

"I like it. 'The Amazing Avengers' one, I mean. The other one is too much, but could you shorten the name up?" He asked.

"How about 'The Avengers'. Plain and simple." I said, rubbing my forehead.

"Yeah. I like it! You're good! Sure you haven't been in a hero alliance before?" He teased me.

"I'm sure," I said, grinning.

"I like your attitude Benny! I like it so much, that I'm letting you join 'The Avengers'! You've already got your name, Shadow, so that's that. How would you like to join me in pulling the team together?" He asked.

"I'd love to, if that's all right with _you_." I looked at my hands.

"Of course! You're my number one guest now!" He smiled at me.

And that's how I met Tony Stark.

Okay, okay! So it _is _a long story after all, and Tony still doesn't trust me around his Iron Man suit, but so what? We became close friends and we keep in touch, via e-mail, texting, and calling each other. Even Shadow lets him fight with her, when necessary.

Jane doesn't trust him, but she trusts me. She still hasn't forgotten the whole Thor incident, but more of that later. For now, let's take a brief trip through my life. I'm not into the whole mall, girl talk, makeovers, and stuff. I don't follow trends, so I'm not a girly-girl. I never was. I'm currently living alone, except for my golden retriever named Queen. Don't ask me why. Jane named her, not me.

Anyways, moving on. On this day, I decide that it's been way too long since Jane and I'd hung out together. I go outside, lock the door and drive to her house. Once I get there, I meet Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Hello, Miss Foster. Good to see you again." He says, shaking my hand.

"Yeah. Fantastic!" I say, dryly.

"I hope you aren't bitter about what we did for you a couple years ago," he says, his hopefulness showing.

"Honestly, I'm still a bit frustrated, but then again I always am. Now, onto a much bigger and more recent topic, what brings you here and how did you know I'd be coming?" I ask, folding my arms. The wind picks up, fluttering my long blue sweater and the tassels on my moccasin boots.

I hug my sweater around my waist, hiding my white tank top. My cell is in my left pocket of my skinny jeans.

"As long as we're deciding to be honest with each other, I'm here because your cousin Jane wanted me to. She's in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody for her protection. She told me you were working with Tony Stark. Have been for a few years, and as you know, I know who you really are. To answer the second part of your question…" Agent Coulson looks to a man wearing a pair of sunglasses and a fedora.

"Long duster, doesn't really suit you!" I say, teasing him.

"I still can pull it off!" He replied.

"Tony!" I chide, still playfully.

"All right! You got me!" Tony grins at me.

"Why are you here?" I ask, seriously.

"It's time," he says, no longer grinning. I nod and follow him into his chopper.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry about the long wait! Here's the next chapter!**

**Chapter 2: Meetings**

We land on the helipad of the Helicarrier. I get off the helicopter, the wind blowing my blonde hair over my shoulder. I frown and use a pair of special metal chopsticks to keep it up.

"So, this isn't exactly what I was thinking of when you said we'd be taking a quick flyover," I say, raising an eyebrow at Tony. He winces, guiltily.

"Okay, I want you to meet the Avengers team."

I roll my blue eyes at him.

"C'mon Benny! It'll be fun!" He pleads.

I give him a look, "Fine. But only because you're my best friend and I know you'll never stop asking until I say yes."

He smirks and leads me inside. I say hello to Nick Fury and Agent Hill, and I'm shown into a brightly lit room with a silver table in the middle. I see three men, one I recognize as Thor.

"Benny!" He smiles at me.

"Hey, Thor! Long time since we met on Asgard, huh?" I reply, shaking his hand.

"Indeed. Again, I apologize for my behavior towards you."

"I've already forgiven you," I smile at him. He looks relieved.

"All right you two! Benny, over here!" Tony calls, standing next to a blonde haired man in a red white and blue suit.

"This is-" Tony begins.

"Captain Steven Rodgers, or Captain America, as I'm better known as." Steve kisses my hand. I blush a bit.

"Pleased to meet you, Captain!"

"Please, call me Steve."

"All right then, Steve."

"Well, I can see you two won't be fighting anytime soon." Tony mutters. I ignore his comment.

"Who's the quiet one over there?" I ask, nodding towards the man wearing a purple shirt and khaki pants.

"Oh, that's Bruce Banner." Tony says, shrugging. Bruce looks up and takes his glasses off, staring at me. I blush again and look away, smiling.

"Now that we've gotten introductions out of the way, let's move on to business," Tony declares, ignoring the fact that Bruce is moving closer to me.

While Tony talks to the other Avengers, Bruce takes me aside.

"Sorry about the abruptness of this, but I never caught your name," he says.

"Benevolence. Or Benny, as I'm nicknamed as mostly."

" 'Benevolence'. That's, um, an interesting name." He seems quite flustered.

"Is that a good thing or bad?"

"Not sure yet."

Tony calls me over to him again.

"How are you doing?" He whispers.

"Fine, why?" I say, barely moving my lips.

"You've got that look on your face again."

"This is how I _always_ look."

"Only when you like someone."

I grow silent and clear my throat. Tony hides his smile.

"So, everyone's all set to go?" He says, clapping his hands together.

Mutters of agreement are heard at different times around the room. Suddenly the door opens. A red haired woman wearing a black skin tight suit walks in, with a weapons belt on similar to the one I wear when I'm Shadow.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone." The woman says, looking at me.

"It's all right, Natasha. In case you're wondering, this is Benevolence. She's the one who started the idea of the Avengers. Benny, this is Natasha Romanoff." Nick says, walking in wearing his usual duster and Avengers suit.

"Nice to meet you, Benevolence."

"You as well, Natasha."

We shake hands. Nick looks at me with his one eye. I pretend not to notice.

"Now, don't forget why we're all here," Tony says, solemnly.

"How _can_ we, when you keep telling us every minute?" I tease him.

"Play nice, Benny!" Tony warns me, playfully.

I wrinkle my nose at him.

"_Anyway_!" Nick says, bringing us all together again.

"What we're _really_ here for is Loki." Natasha nudges Bruce. He snaps out of his stupor and fills me in on what's happening.

"And so, he's been captured?" I say, making sure I get my facts straight.

"In a way, yes. I mean, he's physically here, but he got two of ours."

"May I inquire as to who he got?"

"Yes, but you won't like it."

"Try me."

"Clinton Barton and Eric Selvig."

She was right, I don't like the news. I struggle to control my anger.

"When did this happen?"

"I'm not sure, but it seems to have been sometime before you came on board."

"Thank you, Natasha." Nick knows the look on my face, and decides not to push too far.

"Well, we'd all better get some rest for tomorrow." Tony says, walking out.

"Good idea, Stark!" Nick nods and all except for Bruce leave.

He sits down, and I pace back and forth.

"So, what brings you here?" He asks.

"Tony Stark brought me here. He wanted to show me his 'team'." I use air quotes for the last part of my sentence.

"Did he mention the fact that you're in danger as long as you're with me?" Bruce says, doubtfully.

"Why would I be in danger with _you_?" I say, confused.

He sighs, "I'm not the nicest person."

"Neither am I, but so what?"

"Why is this so important to you?!" He snaps.

I recognize the look in his eyes.

"Why is it so hard for you to tell me the truth?" I reply, being careful not to let my anger rise too far.

"You wouldn't understand."

"How do you know what I would or wouldn't understand if you refuse to tell me?"

His eyes flash at the same time mine do. We both change forms. He changes into the Hulk, and I become Shadow.

"Look, I don't want to hurt you, Bruce!"

Hulk roars, throwing me across the room. I growl, narrowing my blue eyes and I wipe the blood from my lip. I launch myself at the Hulk, take his wrist in both of my hands, flip Hulk onto the table (it breaks of course), bend his arm behind him, and pin him down. I hold a knife to his throat, which is pretty hard to do considering how massive the Hulk is.

"Hulk, believe me when I say this: I won't hesitate to spare your life if you'll just relax. I'll kill you otherwise."

He tries to throw me off of him, but I wrap my arms around his neck and hold the blade of the knife to his throat. I lock my fingers together, and cling on for dear life.

Eventually, Hulk stops struggling. He's not knocked out, though. I slowly release my grip from him and get off of him. Hulk rises up and advances towards me.

"Wait, Hulk!"

He stops for a moment. That moment is all I need.

"Look, I'm putting my weapons away." I empty my weapons belt onto the table, take off my two cuffs of daggers from my thighs, put my gloves on over my red poison painted nails, take my boots off, throw a quiver full of arrows and the bow on top of the boots, and take out the two poison tipped chopsticks in my hair.

Hulk blinks at all the weaponry on the table. I shrug and toss the knife on the table. Slowly, we both return to our normal selves.

"I, um, hate to ask you this but…" Bruce looks sheepishly at me.

"Don't worry, Bruce!" I grab my bag from the corner of the room and take out a robe. I throw it in his direction, without looking at him.

"Thanks," he says.

"No problem! And don't ask where I got it because it isn't mine. Well, not really." I turn around.

"I wasn't going to."

"Then you'd be the first."

We're quiet for a bit. Bruce clears his throat and puts his glasses back on.

"So how long have you and Tony known each other?" Bruce says.

"About four or five years, why?"

"Just curious," he says a bit too quickly. He looks at the staff on another table.

"Whose staff is that?"

"Loki's. We took it from him before he was put in his lovely new home."

I smile at Bruce's joke, and then stop because it hurts. Bruce doesn't seem to have noticed.

"You know, you're the only person on this damn ship that's been able to calm the other guy down before he caused any fatal damage." He smiles at me, and finally sees my cut lip and bruised face.

"Benny, are you all right? Did the other guy… Did _I_ hurt you?"

"Bruce, I'm fine! Trust me, I've had worse." I'm touched by his concern though.

"I'm so sorry!"

"You didn't _really_ hurt me, you know. You _did_ manage to piss me off enough to make Shadow want to kill you."

"But why didn't she?"

"I could ask the same thing about the Hulk."

We sit in silence again. My watch beeps at me. I look at it and gasp.

"Oh God! It's already 11! I didn't know how late it was. Sorry Bruce, I've gotta go." I get off the table, shoving all my weapons into my duffel bag. I zip it shut and walk to the door.

"Wait!" Bruce grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. The bag slips down to my elbow. I ignore this fact, and keep the confused look on my face.

He suddenly pulls me close to him and plants a passionate kiss on my slightly parted lips. My eyes widen and then I close them. I'm not gonna lie; Bruce is a fantastic kisser!

After that kiss, I feel sleepier than ever. Bruce carries me to my room on the Helicarrier. He places me in my bed, tucking the covers around me.

"Goodnight, Benny," he whispers, kissing my forehead. I smile at him, half asleep.

"Goodnight, Bruce," I whisper back to him. He turns off my light and softly closes the door behind him. I sigh and fall asleep.

I wake up in my bed the next morning with my duffel bag sitting on top of my chair.

I sit up, noticing that my clothes are still on. I search through my bag and I'm relieved to find that nothing's missing. Even my chopsticks are there. I smile at the memory of the kiss. My lips are still tingling.

I stretch and spy my Avengers suit. I chuckle and put it on, surprised by how well it fits. The door opens, and I quickly zip up the front of my suit.

"Knock, knock!" Tony comes in.

"Hey, Tony!" I say, my heart still racing.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! What time did you _actually_ go to bed?"

"I don't know. Maybe around 11ish?"

He raises an eyebrow.

"Bruce and I talked for a while last night. Don't look at me like that, Tony! Nothing happened, I promise!"

"All right, I believe you. I was just giving you a hard time." He winks at me.

I scoff, folding my arms.

"C'mon, Benny! We're waiting for you. Oh, catch!" He throws me an apple.

"What's this for?"

"You. Cap. brought it on board. I 'borrowed' it for you to eat!"

" 'Cap'? As in Steve Rodgers?"

"Yep."

"Remind me to thank him," I say, biting into the fruit. Tony laughs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Bruce's New Companion**

We go into the room where Loki's staff is. The rest of the Avengers are there. I throw the apple core towards the trashcan at the opposite end of the room. It bounces off the wall and clangs to the bottom of the can.

"Nice shot!" Steve says, smiling at me.

"Thanks!" I return his smile, to the annoyance of Bruce.

"Now that we're all here, we can continue our conversation. We were just talking about what to do." Tony explains.

"About Loki?" I say.

"Yeah. We still need to get the information about the Tesseract from him, but Natasha tried to do that already. She only got who he was targeting." Tony's eyes flicker to Bruce.

I nod, biting my lip so hard that it bleeds again. Thor puts his hand on my shoulder. I release my lip and sigh.

"Thanks, Thor!" I say, relaxing.

"Anytime!" He replies.

Bruce has the look he had last night in his eyes. Tony notices this as well.

"Uh, Benny, why don't you go take care of your injuries?" He says, practically shoving me out the door.

I roll my eyes and decide to talk to Agent Coulson. He welcomes me with a smile.

"Good morning, Miss Foster!" He greets me.

"Good morning, Agent Coulson," I say, giving him a rare smile.

"Have you forgiven me for saving you?"

"I had it under control until Loki sent the Destroyer."

"Clearly. You nearly died from suffocation."

"Only because _someone_ from S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't let Shadow fight!"

"You know why I neutralized her! She would have killed you both had I not."

"So you're saying that I should be grateful for nearly dying?"

"No. I'm saying you should trust me. All S.H.I.E.L.D. agents strive to protect the people they were assigned to."

"But I don't _want_ protection!"

"True. But you _need_ it!"

He walks away, leaving me in silence. I sigh again. Bruce suddenly appears next to me.

"Hey, you!" He says, kissing my head.

"Hey!" I say, grinning.

"Everything all right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with Coulson."

"I just don't know if I can trust him. Not after what he did."

"What did he do?"  
"He… He took me from my home when I was a baby and placed me in an orphanage. My parents searched everywhere for me, but were never able to find me. Jane's parents raised me as their own, but they made sure I knew who my parents were."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault, Bruce." I lean in to kiss him.

"Parent in the room!" Tony says, putting one arm around me and the other around Bruce. He places himself between us.

"Hey, Tony!" I say, exasperated.

"Well, now that I'm here, I'll escort you two back to the 'briefing room'."

When we go over to a large table with several chairs around it, I sit down and sigh.  
"Missed him. Fury just interrogated him, but here's the clip." Natasha throws me a disc. I insert it into the computer and watch it. Afterwards, I narrow my eyes.

"Benny? You still with us?" Steve asks, tentatively.

"I thought you said that Loki was captured _before_ I came onboard?" I say, bitterly.

"Well, I stretched the truth a bit. He was captured when you were sleeping." Natasha says, shrugging.

"Loki's just how I remember him. Power hungry and striving for revenge."

"Take care how you speak, Benny! This is my brother you speak of." Thor says, grabbing his hammer. **(A/N: There's a bit of AU here)**

"He tried to kill me twice. Once on Asgard, and the other here on Earth with the Destroyer. Remember?"

"But he still is my brother."

"He killed 80 people in two days," Natasha informs him. I look at him.

"He's adopted." Thor says, as an afterthought. I bite my lip to keep from laughing.

"Here's what Loki's really after, and what the Chitauri want." Nick shows Bruce and me his notes.

"Oh my God!" I say, as I recognize the findings.

"Iridium!" Bruce and I say together. He looks at me.

"I'm the cousin of a science lover!" I shrug. Bruce smiles.

"But what did they need Iridium for?" I ask.

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony says, appearing behind me. I jump a bit and hit his chest.

"What?" He asks, innocently.

"So the portal won't collapse on itself." I finish for him.

"Damn, Benny! You always take away my fun!"

"It's what I'm here for, Tony!" I smile at him.

"Hey, no hard feelings Point Break." Tony says to Thor.

Thor looks questioningly at him.

"You've got a mean swing," Tony explains.

"Also, the portal can open as wide as Loki wants and can stay open as long as he wants." I say, taking advantage of Tony's pause.

"Benny!" He chides.

"Sorry! I can't help it that I can figure these things out so quickly," I protest.

"Just… Stop please! Let me have half credit."

"Fine!" I throw my hands up and sit down again.

"I love it when people get worked up about this kind of stuff!" Bruce says, quite impressed.

"The rest of the raw materials, Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he needs is a power source. Something to kick start the cube." Tony states.

"Since when have you been an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. Bruce looks at me in admiration.

"Since last night." Tony says.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to be quiet?" He points out.

"Doesn't work so well for me." I wrinkle my nose at him.

"Anyways, I read the packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony throws his hands in the air.

"Does Loki need any certain _kind_ of power source?" Steve asks

"He's gotta heat the cube to 120 million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier." Bruce contemplates.

"Unless Erik's figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," I say to him, getting excited.

"He could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet." Bruce says, getting closer to me.

"Assuming that he can pull it off," I state, stepping close to him.

Tony plants himself between us again.

"Benny, I wanted 50% credit, remember?" Tony says.

"Sorry, I'm Erik Selvig's student! You can even ask him yourself if you don't believe me. Well, once we get the Tesseract out of his head."

"And we would do that, how?" Bruce asks.

"By simply knocking him unconscious… Or killing him. Once his brain waves cease functioning, the Tesseract loses its hold on him and he returns to being his normal self," I explain, slightly rapidly.

"Finally you're speaking English!" Tony exclaims, embracing me.

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asks, bewildered.

"Tony, you can let me go now!" I say, my feet a foot from the ground.

He gently sets me down. I clear my throat and return to the room with Loki's staff in it. Bruce follows me in, and Tony does as well.

I turn the computer on and my eyes widen.

"What's wrong?" Tony asks.

"_This_." I show them the screen.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Erik's reports on the Tesseract, but it'll take weeks to process," Bruce says.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops," Tony declares.

"And here I was thinking I was on a vacation!" I say, dryly.

"You know, you should come by Stark Towers sometime," Tony says to Bruce.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke Harlem."

"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises." Tony suddenly pokes Bruce with an electrical shock device. **(A/N: I had to look this up. Don't remember where I found it. Wikipedia maybe? I don't know.)**

"Ow!" Bruce says, massaging the place where Tony poked him. I stifle my laughter.

"Tony!" I chide him.

"Sorry, doctor," he says.

"It's all right. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Bruce winks at me. I giggle.

Tony looks from me to Bruce, and then from Bruce to me.

"There's something going on between you two, right?" He says.

"No!" Bruce says at the same time I say, "Yes."

"There _is_!" Tony declares pointing at my pink face.

"Okay, fine, there is something going on between us. Keep it quiet, will you?" Bruce asks.

"If you insist." Tony says, waving Steve inside.

"What's going on in here? I heard a shout," Steve says.

"That would have been me. Stark… used a pointy object on me." Bruce says, shrugging.

"Foster!" Nick calls.

"Yes, sir?" I ask.

"We need you out here, now!" He ushers me out.

"What's going on?" I say.

"I know you're the only one that keeps Dr. Banner under control, so I want you to be his constant companion. Can you do that?"

"Define 'constant companion'?"

"As in you'll stick to him like glue."

"24/7?"

"I see your point. Just do whatever you think you need to in order for him to remain calm." Nick walks away.

I groan and walk back into the room. Only Tony and Bruce are inside.

"Hello, boys!"

"Hey!" They say.

Tony doesn't look up from his work, but Bruce looks at me through his screen and smiles at me. I return his smile.

"So, as I was saying before Benny showed up, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart." Tony says, pointing to the energy plate in the middle of his chest.

"This stops it. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege." Tony says, wincing.

"But you can control it." Bruce says, adjusting levels.

"Because I learned how, and Benny learned how to control herself." Tony explains. I look up from my readings.

"It's different." Bruce declares. Tony minimizes all the readings on Bruce's screen.

"Hey, both Benny and I read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you." Tony says, seriously.

"So you're saying that the Hulk, the other guy, saved my life? That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Save it for what?" Bruce asks.

"I guess we'll find out." Tony says, nodding to me.

"Don't know if you'll like it," Bruce sighs, bringing up his readings again. I add mine to his. He looks at me.

"Nice work, Benny!" Bruce says.

"Thanks, Bruce!"

"All right, love birds, keep focused on what we're actually doing!" Tony snaps, getting our attention.

"What the hell do you _think_ we've been doing?" I say.

"What _have_ you been doing?" Tony says, seriously.

Before either of us can answer, I'm called out again. This time by Steve.

"So, what's going on between you and Banner?" He asks.

"We're working together, and I was recently assigned to watch over him."

"Watching over him is different than manipulating his feelings towards you and using him."

"That's the last thing on my mind, and frankly I'm offended that you'd even suggest that I'd do such a monstrous thing! Good day, Captain!" I turn on my heel and march back inside. My hair whips his face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Last Thing Expected**

"Benny, what was that about?" Bruce asks, noting my sour face. Tony leaves right away. I hope he doesn't start criticizing Steve again.

"Steve and I… We had a falling out." I sigh, putting my head in my hands.

"But you weren't even friends!"

"We were getting there. I can't be friends with him after what he said."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head in response, wiping a small tear away. Bruce goes back to his readings, as if he didn't notice anything.

"He believes my feelings for you are… suppositional."

" 'Suppositional'?" Bruce looks at me in surprise.

"Yeah, 'suppositional'. You know, something that's supposed?"

"I know, but I didn't expect that you were gonna use it in an actual sentence."

"You mean you didn't think I knew what it was?" My eyes flash.

"No, that's not what I meant!"

"Well then what _did_ you mean?" A spark of anger ignites in my eyes.

"I… Look, Benny, this is a ridiculous argument. Let's start this conversation over again. That way, the other guy won't come out and Shadow won't have to kill me. Okay?" Bruce looks at what's in my hand.

"Benny?" He warns, softly.

My anger dissipates. I look at what I'm holding and nearly drop it in surprise.

"Loki's staff!" I quickly set it back where it was before.

"I'm so sorry, Bruce! Did I…"

"No. You didn't use it. Actually, _I'm_ the one who should be apologizing. After all," Bruce gently brushes my hair out of my face before continuing. This reveals the healing purple bruises on my left temple. An angry look crosses his face, one I know too well.

"I hit you first," he says, his right fist clenches tightly. He lets me go and begins to transform into the Hulk. I hold his hand to my face, desperately trying to calm him down.

"Bruce, it wasn't your fault! You didn't know what kind of a person I am. I forgive you!" I say this quickly, but in a calming voice. I can tell the Hulk is just about to burst through.

"Focus on me! Focus on the fact that I'm still alive! C'mon, Bruce, you can do this! You are _not_ a monster. You're _not_ a killer." I know I'm rambling, but it seems to be working.

Bruce locks eyes with me; his skin green and tears running along his shirt.

"Look at me. Look right at me, and relax. Everything's fine! _I'm_ fine!"

Through several anxious minutes, nothing seems to have changed. Then, Bruce stops the transformation. He slides to the floor, panting.

"Bruce?" I say, tentatively.

He looks up, back to his original form. His shirt is barely there, but otherwise he's decent.

"B-Benny?" He shakes his head.

"Are you all right?" I ask, helping him up.

"Guess so. You?"

"A little shaken up, but no injuries."

He sighs and embraces me, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Benny! You're the only reason why I don't feel alone."

I smile and say: "I won't leave you, Bruce."

"You know, the strangest thing happened just five minutes ago," Tony mentions, in a loud voice that breaks Bruce and me apart.

"You wanna know?" He asks, pausing for a second. I open my mouth to speak, but Tony puts his finger on my lips.

"All right, I'll tell you! A little spangly outfitted Captain told me that you were recently 'assigned' to 'watch over' our dear Doctor Banner, Benny." Tony used airquotes to accent key points.

"Well, I-" I begin, but Tony talks over me.

"So naturally, I explained to the spangly Captain that you _were_ assigned to Dr. Banner. He asked me how I knew. I said: 'Don't you find it odd how much time they spend together? Alone?' He thought about this for a while. Then he said something that I wasn't expecting him to say. He said: 'Is there something you're not telling me, Stark?' Sadly, I gave into the pressure and told him that you," Tony points at my shocked face.

"I told him that _you_ and Dr. Banner," he points at Bruce, "are in fact, an item."

"You _what_?!" Bruce and I say together.

"Tony, how _could_ you?" I say, at the same time Bruce says: "Who said we were an item?"

I look at Bruce, "_We_ did, remember?"

"We just said we were together, not that we were a couple!"

"Well, aren't we?"

"_Ow!_" Bruce flinches as Tony pokes him again with the electrical shock device, and then Tony pokes me with it.

"_Ow!_" I echo.

"Thank you. You didn't let me finish! I told him you _were_ a couple." Tony pauses and gives me a look.

"You told him we broke it off?" I say, breathless.

"She shoots, she scores!" Tony grins.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Yet Another Surprise**

"Tony, you're amazing!" I hug him.

"I know!" He says, shrugging.

"Do you think he bought it?" Bruce asks.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him yourself?" Tony nods to the door.

"Ask me what?" Steve says, entering the room.

"Never mind." Bruce mutters, going back to his readings.

"What's going on?" Steve looks at me. Deciding it's best not to tell him, I put on my best poker face and shrug. Tony avoids Steve's gaze. After a long pause, something happens. A chill runs down my spine, and I can hear Loki's laugh growing louder and louder in my head. My temples throb and my heart races as beads of sweat form on my forehead. My hands grow clammy and the room spins.

"Benny? Are you all right?" Tony asks, his concerned face going in and out of focus. I vaguely see Bruce step away from his readings and Steve moving towards me.

"I – can't – breathe!" I manage to say, between gasps. The room spins at a dangerous speed, and I black out. When I come to, I'm disoriented for a few moments. I look around and realize I'm in the infirmary of the Helicarrier. I groan, propping myself up on my elbows. My blonde hair slides off my pillow. Natasha walks into the room. I wince at the light.

"Take it easy there, Agent Foster. You've just recovered." She smiles at me, helping me sit up.

"Recovered from what?" I ask, blearily.

"We don't know yet. It was something Loki did. Well, truth be told, he's managed to escape his prison. He said you'd be the first. We didn't know what that meant until you passed out." She gives me a glass of water.

"Fainting's not uncommon, you know." I say into my glass.

"But you _didn't_ faint. You… I don't know. From what Bruce and Tony have gathered, a part of your mind went into a lockdown mode." She looks at the paperwork in her hands. An uneasy feeling crept into my stomach.

"Was it the part that controls my alter ego?" I ask, fearing the answer. She nods, not looking up. I glance over to the other room. An all too familiar face comes into focus.

"You put up quite the fight. It took four people to pin you down and another to sedate you."

"I'm guessing one of those people was Captain America." I say, still looking at the person in the room next to mine. Natasha follows my gaze and sighs.

"Benny, it wasn't your fault. It was Loki." She puts her hand on my shoulder.

"It wasn't _all_ Loki. He just pushed her through the barriers. But she's always been there. Just not evil." A tear hit my hand. I wrapped my arms around my legs and hugged them to my chest.

"I'm a monster!" I whisper, burying my head in my knees. Natasha pats my back soothingly. I hear the door open.

"Not now!" Natasha hisses, and the door closes again.

"Benny, you are _not_ a monster."

"Yes I _am_!" I whip my head up, showing my tearstained face.

"No you _aren't_!" Natasha says this so defiantly, that I can't argue with her.

"You're a good person, Benny. You have morals, even as Shadow. Nobody understands this more than I do. Trust me, I know." She gives me a rare smile. I sniff and return it.

"Thank you, Natasha!" I hug her. I can tell she's surprised, but I'm even more so when she returns my hug. After that, I clean myself up and put a new set of clothes on. I decide to visit Steve. He's the person that became my infirmary neighbor. He's lying in his bed, unconscious. I sigh, a new wave of guilt hitting me. I take a seat next to him. _He looks so peaceful and handsome lying here,_ I think. There are healing cuts and bruises on his face, along his arms and across what I can see of his bare chest. This makes me feel awkward. His eyelids open.

"Benny? Is it really you?" He asks, groggily.

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry I tried to kill you." I start a bit as he suddenly holds his hand to my face. He quickly drops his hand.

"Sorry I startled you." He slowly becomes aware that he's half naked. He pulls the covers up to his chin.

"Oh, _relax_, Captain! You're among friends here." I smile at him.

"So we're friends now?" He says, refusing to let go of the covers.

"You hurt me, I hurt you. I'd say we're either enemies or friends. Which would _you_ rather be?"

"When you put it that way, I think being friends is nice." He relaxes a bit.

"Me too." I laugh.

"I like it when you laugh, Benny. It reminds me of somebody that I used to know."

"Oh? Do tell!" I lean forward, propping my elbows on my knees. He laughs at this.

"I'll tell you later."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"All right, see that you _keep _that promise, Cap!" I'm half-teasing him.

"Yes, ma'am!" He smiles at me. The door opens and Bruce is standing in the frame.

"Natasha told me you were here, Benny. I'm glad to see you're talking to Steve again."

"Yeah, we're friends now. Funny how things work out that way." I say, getting up.

"Hilarious," Bruce mutters. Fortunately, only I hear this. Steve gets up and puts his shirt on. I walk to Bruce's side and kiss him, making sure that Steve is occupied first.

"Be good, okay? For me?"

"Don't worry, I'll be my normal charming self." Bruce assures me.

"You'd better! See you in a few." I give him another kiss before I leave the infirmary. Natasha escorts me back to Director Fury. Tony is already there.

"She lives!" Tony says, as he embraces me briefly.

"Nice to see you too, Tony." I grin.

"No sass from you, young lady." He gives me a look. I wrinkle my nose at him as Steve and Bruce join us.

"Now that most of the team is here, we can resume our discussion. Loki, as you all are aware, attacked Agent Foster, two days ago. I'm not saying that she should have a bodyguard, but – " He's cut off by Agent Coulson.

"Forgive my interruption, Director, but we have a location on Loki."

"All right, let's forget this conversation, and go squash that bug!" Nick says, walking away. While the rest of the Avengers file out, Steve pulls me aside.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He looks at me for a while. I raise my eyebrows at him, silently prompting him.

"_Oh!_ Um, Benny, I wanted to apologize for my rude behavior the other day. I said things I shouldn't have, and I judged you before I could get the chance to know you. I shouldn't have tried to tell you what to do, or questioned your love for Bruce. I feel wholly responsible for the reason that you two broke up. If you hate me, I understand. I won't think anything less of you if you do." His sincerity makes my guilt rise.

"Steve, I don't hate you. You're a hero and a part of the Avengers, like me. You trusted me enough to tell me what was on your mind, and I'd like to return the favor. I know Tony and Bruce will be mad at me for this, but I can't keep lying to you. The truth is, Steve… Bruce and I are still together." I never found out what Steve would have said because an explosion suddenly shakes the whole Helicarrier.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey all! Sorry about the long delay. I recently graduated from high school and was therefore busy preparing for finals and my grad party. Well, here's the next chapter! Treat it well **

**Chapter 6: Benevolence Takes Over**

I immediately run to the room where Loki's staff is and see a gaping hole. I jump down, searching for anyone that might be hurt. I see Natasha and Bruce. Natasha's leg is caught beneath a metal pipe. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Bruce transforming into the Hulk. Without thinking, I take his head in my hands.

"Bruce, it's me. Benny." My pulse rises as I see the green spreading in his face.

"Don't you recognize me?" I ask, tearfully. A shadow of recognition is in his eyes.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. You know that, don't you?" I look into his eyes. Slowly, he returns to his normal self.

"I do now." He embraces me. I sigh and wrap my arms around him.

"No way! You two?" Natasha says, giving me a look.

"Weirder things have happened." I reply, shrugging. She raises her eyebrows in agreement. The ship shakes again and I dodge another metal pipe.

"Now's not the time to talk, we've gotta get out of here!" Bruce says, taking my hand in his. We run out onto the hanger, where the extra supplies are kept. Tony calls me on my communicator.

"Foster, I need you out here!"

"I'll be right there." I hang up on him and turn to Bruce.

"Go, I'll be fine!" He kisses me again as I leave. I run to Engine 3 and meet Steve there.

"Hey, Cap!" I greet him.

"Benny! What are you doing here?" He asks, surprised to see me.

"Tony called me." I shrug.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"All right you two, listen up! I just checked the engine. I gotta get this super conducting cooling system back online before I can access the rotors and work on dislodging the debris." Tony says, appearing next to us. He looks at Steve.

"I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position." Tony states. Steve nods and follows suit.

"Status report." I say.

"It seems to run on some form of electricity." Steve replies sounding annoyed.

"What about the relays?" I ask.

"They're intact. What's our next move?"

"Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump. I'm gonna have to get in there and push." Tony prepares to enter the damaged engine.

"Tony, it's too risky!" I declare.

"It's the only way to save everyone on this ship, Benny. Besides, you _know_ I'm a risk taker." He smiles at me before his face vanishes behind his Iron Man mask.

"Stark, she's right. If that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded!" Steve says.

"Then stay in the control unit and reverse polarity long enough to disengage mag – " Tony begins, but Steve interrupts him.

"Speak English!" He says.

"He means that red lever, Steve. It'll slow the rotors down long enough for Tony to get out safely." I explain.

"Stand by it, Rodgers, and wait for my word." Tony replies, before flying into the engine. On a private line, Tony called me.

"What's up, Stark?"

"I want you to get inside, Benny, and stay there. I'll come get you later."

"Tony – "

"No excuses! Stay inside!" He commands and the line goes dead. I groan and return to the ship. Curious, I go into the room where Loki is held. I knock out the guard about to release Loki from his prison. Loki smiles at me, laughing cruelly.

"So are you the peace offering?" He says, still laughing. I feel a spark of anger.

"Go on. Give in to that anger!" Loki's goading me, but I can't help myself. I narrow my eyes and turn into Shadow.

"Good. Good! Let me out so you can defeat me properly." His gaze is hypnotic. I do as he says. I don't see it right away, but he's made a double of himself. I'm preparing to fight the double, thinking it's really him.

"And now, Benevolence Foster, you and Shadow will be mine to rule again!" Loki whispers from behind me. I whip around, but before I can even blink Loki touches the point of his staff to my chest. I can hear his voice in my mind and I find myself agreeing to every word he says.


End file.
